PAGE CONTENTS
Objectives
The products developed under this contract are designated for the market of VSAT applications such as communication networks, internet services at remote locations, backbones for rural telephony etc.
A series of booster amplifiers in C- and Ku band and a 10W C band block upconverter are to be developed.
Based on the expertise gained from earlier ESA programs, a modular design approach was followed in order to enable reuse of certain key functions and components.
By reducing recurring costs and enlarging the production volume of common modules, AAS-A should be able to rival with the major competitors on the market. A rigorous follow up of the costs involved was made during the design phase and when necessary other solutions or components were selected to maintain this objective.
Under ESTEC contract 18778/04/NL/US a BUC and booster product family has been developed which presently includes the following products:
- A 40W and 60W C-band booster,
- An 8W and 12W Ku-band booster,
- A 10W C-band block upconverter.
10 WC Band Block Upconverter | 40 WC Band Booster click for larger image |
Challenges
The key issues which are addressed in this project are:
- Cost reduction via increased modularity and component selection,
- The technical challenge to offer high performance equipment without increasing the hardware,
- To offer products with a high reliability and MTBF figures following the install-and-forget principle,
- A product design approach towards niche market positioning and RF station upgradeability.
Plan
| Milestone Name | Date |
| Kick Off | December 2004 |
| Design Review 1 | December 2004 |
| Design Review 2 | November 2005 |
| Design Review 3 | April 2006 |
| Design Review 4 | November 2006 |
| Final Review (FAR) | April 2007 |
Current Status
Definition phase of the project was concluded successfully. All planned Design reviews are successfully completed. The final acceptance review was held in April 2007.
Industrialisation of the 10W C-band block upconverters is finalised and an additional order for a batch of 30 pieces was launched to a local subcontractor. Industrialisation and ordering of pre-series of the C- and Ku-band booster family is foreseen after the internal approval cycles.